Joseph Philippe Gentil (9 February 1928 - 26 January 2021), was a Mauritian
composer best known for composing
The Motherland, the
National Anthem
A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and Europea ...
of
Mauritius
Mauritius ( ; french: Maurice, link=no ; mfe, label= Mauritian Creole, Moris ), officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about off the southeast coast of the African continent, east of Madagascar. It ...
.
Joseph Philippe Gentil was born in the island of
Mauritius
Mauritius ( ; french: Maurice, link=no ; mfe, label= Mauritian Creole, Moris ), officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about off the southeast coast of the African continent, east of Madagascar. It ...
, Indian Ocean of Irene Annibal and Eugene Gentil son of photographer, musician and conductor, Gabriel Gentil. He worked for over 30 years in the
Mauritius Police Force
The Mauritius Police Force (MPF) is the national law enforcement agency of Mauritius. The MPF carries out police, security and military functions on the island nation, with about 12,500 police officers under the command of the Commissioner of Pol ...
, more precisely with the Mauritius Police Band as a musician and composer. He was known in his younger days for his comedies performed live in open air such as at the Jardin De La Compagnie,
Port Louis
Port Louis (french: Port-Louis; mfe, label= Mauritian Creole, Polwi or , ) is the capital city of Mauritius. It is mainly located in the Port Louis District, with a small western part in the Black River District. Port Louis is the country's e ...
. He later became well known on
MBC TV for his comedy gigs. He has introduced various European and American musical talents to the Mauritian community by covering their songs, such as
Fernandel
Fernand Joseph Désiré Contandin (8 May 1903 – 26 February 1971), better known as Fernandel, was a French actor and singer. Born near Marseille, France, to Désirée Bedouin and Denis Contandin, originating in Perosa Argentina, an Occitan t ...
,
Bourvil
André Robert Raimbourg (; 27 July 1917 – 23 September 1970), better known as André Bourvil (), and mononymously as Bourvil, was a French actor and singer best known for his roles in comedy films, most notably in his collaboration with Louis ...
,
Glenn Miller Band,
Louis Armstrong, and
Henri Salvador
Henri Salvador (18 July 1917 – 13 February 2008) was a French Caribbean comedian, singer and cabaret artist.
Biography
Salvador was born in Cayenne, French Guiana. His father, Clovis, and his mother, Antonine Paterne, daughter of a native C ...
. He has composed various marches performed by the Mauritius Police Band; unfortunately, many of his compositions were destroyed when the band's room in
Vacoas
Vacoas-Phoenix () also known as French: ''Villes Jumelles'' (Twin Cities), is a town in Mauritius, located in the Plaines Wilhems District, the eastern part also lies in the Moka District. The town is administered by the Municipal Council of Vaco ...
burned down. However one of his compositions remains as the
National Anthem of Mauritius, the Motherland which he won as a competition when Mauritius became independent from the
British Empire
The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts e ...
in 1968.
The
lyrics
Lyrics are words that make up a song, usually consisting of verses and choruses. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist. The words to an extended musical composition such as an opera are, however, usually known as a " libretto" and their writer, ...
were written by Mauritian poet Jean-Georges Prosper.
On the day of independence, 12 March 1968 a national newspaper mistakenly published the name and photograph of Philippe Oh San who was the Mauritius Police Band's maestro as the National Anthem's composer. The remaining newspapers were returned to be reprinted with the correction. As a result, it has left the name of Mr. Oh San in the mind of many Mauritians as being the anthem's composer. However it was Mr. Oh San who after hearing Mr. Gentil's anthem being performed by the band musicians, encouraged for the work to be entered into the contest for a new National Anthem and after receiving Mr. Jean Georges Prosper's lyric as proposal for the anthem found that the lyric perfectly matched the melody composed by Philippe Gentil, the two being created separately.
Following the release of the ''Motherland'' as the National Anthem, Gentil was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire
M.B.E. Mbe may refer to:
* Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo
* Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria
* Mbe language, a language of Nigeria
* Mbe' language, language of Cameroon
* ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language
Molal ...
from the late
Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom and in 2008 and 2010 obtained other titles of the
Officer of the Order of the Star and Key of the Indian Ocean O.S.K. and
Commander of the Order of the Star and Key of the Indian Ocean C.S.K. from the Mauritian government for his musical service to the Mauritian nation. On he 8th of March 2019, Philippe Gentil was conferred by the Municipal Council of Quatre Bornes the Honorary Freedom of the Town of Quatre Bornes.
Philippe Gentil has been the tutor and mentor for many musicians and professional performers for the largest part of his life. From the time of his retirement in 1988, he formed and directed a new band for the Police officers of the Beau-Bassin Prison for about 20 years which he then left in the hand of others. He is survived by his spouse Claudette Ivy Gentil known also as Diane, born Claudette Ivy Castel (1940) with whom he had a late daughter named Marie-Danielle Gentil (b 1960) and a son Jacques Philippe Mario Gentil (b 1961).
References
External links
* The National Anthems of The World (Naxos
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gentil, Joseph Philippe
1928 births
2021 deaths
Mauritian musicians
National anthem writers
Members of the Order of the British Empire